The Star League eventually decided to intervene in the civil war in support of Gregory Amaris, and in 2579 assembled Task Force MAILED FIST to help secure Amaris' control over the Rim Worlds Republic. A multinational force headed by the Star League Defense Force, Task Force MAILED FIST was responsible for executing Operation MAILED FIST, the name given to the military intervention. the first wave of attacks focused on securing significant worlds near Apollo,[3] until a destructive raid on Alarion by the 4th Amaris Fusiliers in retaliation prompted the SLDF to alter its initial strategy for the campaign, the focus shifted to reducing Rim Worlds Army concentrations throughout the Republic and the capture of key worlds.[4]

In late 2584 the SLDF changed tactics again; a number of major RWA units had been destroyed or captured, and the focus for the campaign shifted to capturing worlds of strategic importance, but the campaign was slowed by the greatly increased resistance offered by the RWA and local civilian populations, prompted by atrocities performed by the Draconis Auxiliary Corps when they captured Nightwish in mid-2584. ArchonViola Steiner-Dinesen of Battle Group Finmark assigned VIII Corps - an SLDF Corps comprised of two divisions, the Thirty-First Armor Division and the Thirty-Second Division - to the conquest of Finmark in 2586;[5] the resulting campaign was actually something of a relief for the beleaguered SLDF, as it was one of the few stand-up fights to occur during Operation MAILED FIST, unmarked by the more extreme defensive measures many other planetary campaigns were marked by.[6]

During the Reunification War the Fifth Dragoons receive a -1 penalty to all repair rolls as a consequence of the disruption caused to the logistical infrastructure of the Rim Worlds Army during the Rim Worlds Republic civil war.[8]